Years before Jane Fonda’s ex-husband Ted Turner died at 87, the actress dubbed the media mogul her “favorite” former spouse.
The duo saw each other at a charity auction in 2001 — the same year their nearly decade-long marriage ended — and Fonda reportedly called out, “My favorite ex-husband!”
Additionally, she released a heartfelt statement after Turner revealed his Lewy body dementia diagnosis in 2018.
“I will never love anyone like I love him,” Fonda, 88, told CNN at the time.
Lewy body dementia, notably, is a neurological disorder characterized by “a decline in mental abilities that gradually gets worse over time,” as well as “rigid muscles, slow movement, trouble walking and tremors,” according to MayoClinic.
The CNN founder died on Wednesday, according to a release from Turner Enterprises.
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Fonda’s rep did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment about Turner’s passing.
Turner began dating the Oscar nominee in 1990 following Fonda’s splits from her first two husbands, director Roger Vadim and politician Tom Hayden.
Fonda initially turned Turner down, telling People, “He wanted to know if I was available to date. I think I said I wasn’t feeling so hot, that he was an interesting guy, but I wasn’t feeling peppy.”
When she eventually gave Turner a chance, she grew to love the “very funny, lovable, complicated person” who could “keep up with” her.
“There were lovemaking times when we’d lock eyes and melt into one,” the “Klute” star wrote of Turner in her 2005 memoir, “My Life So Far.” “There were times when something would set us to laughing so hard we’d sink to the floor.”
The couple, who each had children from previous relationships, tied the knot in January 1991 at Turner’s 8,100-acre plantation, Avalon, in Capps, Florida.
Fonda found out Turner had been unfaithful a month into their marriage, she alleged in her book — but they stayed together until separating in January 2000.
“While we continue to be committed to the long-term success of our marriage,” they wrote in a joint statement, “we find ourselves at a juncture where we must each take some personal time for ourselves.”
They finalized their divorce the following year but remained on good terms.
While neither went on to wed again, Fonda dated music producer Richard Perry from 2009 to 2017 — and Turner made headlines in 2012 for having four simultaneous girlfriends.
Fonda teared up while speaking about him and the charity they founded in 1995, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential, in a November 2025 speech.
The organization “never would have happened if it wasn’t for Ted,” she said at GCAPP’s 30th annual EmPower Party and gala event last year.
“It was a very challenging time in Georgia. … Had he not stood by me with his love and support, we never would have survived,” Fonda said at the time.
“Ted’s not here, but he is here in my heart and I know he is here in a lot of our hearts,” she continued of the businessman.
Earlier that same year, Turner reportedly spent time in a rehab center over a bout of pneumonia.
